


The story has just begun

by 413Kairo



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi, Rating May Change, Strong Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-03-26 13:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3852958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/413Kairo/pseuds/413Kairo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake English works at a small bookstore in downtown Seattle. Jake has always wished his life would become more amazing or he could go on some big adventure.  He also wishes the hot regular would notice him.  Life is hard and nobody understands,  but maybe he's not the only one who thinks that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The rain patters against the window quietly distorting the images of the people outside running for cover. The sun hasn't been out for at least a week and it's bringing down the moods of everyone. The shop is empty and quiet and there's a chill coming in from underneath the door which never fully closes.  
"I need to get a heater or something, " I mumble wrapping my jacket tight around me. I leaned back into my chair and absentmindedly looked around the small store. It was dim since two of the light bulbs burnt out and made the store seem old and abandoned. It was a miracle the place was still here since business has been slow for months now.  
Business started declining when Grandma had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. The doctors said she needed rest and shouldn't do to much. Jade stepped up to care for her but without Grandma at the store there wasn't a point in coming. Everyone that came here came to see Grandma English. She was the nicest person you could fine and smart as a whip. A lot of people sent cards saying how sorry they were and they hoped she felt better.  
I closed my eyes and let my mind wander free reliving memories and thinking of possible new ones. My mind began drifting to a memory of Christmas when Jade got a puppy as the bell above the door jingled. I opened my eyes to see who was brave enough to come in this depressing weather.  
It was him.  
Him was one of the regular customers that has been coming here since it opened. He sent a card to Grandma English along with a stuffed rabbit that looked like a robot. He had on his wife beater that he wore on sunny days and tight, black jeans that hugged him in all the right places.  
He walked over to the first isle and picked out a book lazily flipping through the pages. He came to the shop every single day no matter the weather and every day he had the same baffling accessory. A rose tucked behind his right ear. For a while I thought it was a real rose until one day he sat down at one of the small tables in the corner and began writing with it. It's not unusual to see someone with a pen behind their ear but a pen with a rose on the end is another story.  
He doesn't talk, just browses and occasionally buys something. I don't even think he talked to Grandma. I've only actually helped him a few times and that was when he was looking for a book and handed me a paper with a title on it, and when I've worked the cashier.  
Today was another day of working the cash register and I'm hoping he decides to buy something. I've been working on what to say when we actually end up having a conversation but they all end up turning into daydreams of us getting it on in the back. It's pretty obvious that will never happen and especially not after one conversation. I don't even know if he's into guys. He could be straight or asexual or something weird. It's hard being bisexual when you have no game with either gender.  
By now he had moved to the isle closest to the cash register and had three books in his arms. He pulled down another and began reading the back cover. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and tried to act like I wasn't being a stalker. He began walking over to the counter but turned and instead went over to one of the small tables in front of the window. He sat the books down and took a seat himself before opening the book on the top of the pile.  
I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and internally screamed. Maybe I should just go over and talk to him myself; waiting for him to come to me is not working. I counted to three and tried to stand but my legs didn't move. My brain was ready to go but my body was telling me it wasn't ready. Instead I leaned farther back and stared at him. Well past him but close enough to see him, I wouldn't want to be caught staring.  
He had his notebook with him again today and he began writing furiously with his rose pen and glancing at the open book every few scribbles. I watched him write wishing I could read it and maybe learn more about him and how he thought. I did know what his handwriting looked like from that one time. I realize now keeping the note was incredibly creppy and I should probably throw it away.  
I blinked and jumped when the man was standing in front of the counter, the books sitting in front of him.  
"Oh I'm terribly sorry I seemed to have dozed off for a second. I'll ring these up straight away! " I hastily picked up each book and looked at the price tag and scribbled the amounts on a piece of notebook paper. After writing down all the prices I did simple math and added them to a total of $23.75. He took out his wallet from his back pocket and took out a twenty and a five and handed them to me. I opened the cash register and pulled out the correct amount of change and handed it to him.  
"Would you like these in a bag? " I asked ready to reach under the counter for one. He nodded and I did just that putting the books in and setting it on the counter. He picked up the bag and began walking away when I realized it was raining harder.  
"Oh please wait!" I called standing up. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. I wasn't sure if he was annoyed or confused since his eyes were hidden by some stupid sunglasses. "It's raining quite hard out there. please take this umbrella. "  
I reached behind my chair and picked up my green umbrella and began walking over to him. He shook his head when I held it out for him.  
"Really I insist! " I stepped closer and tried to not seem desperate. He let out a breath through his nose and took the umbrella. He walked to the door and opened it before opening the umbrella.  
"Have a nice day!" I called. He turned slightly to look at me and I barely heard him through the loud rain.  
"Thanks. "


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while I've been busy with family and school. I guess there is a small spoiler about the update in this. It really isn't anything important or something you can easily detect. So you are warned about nothing.

"I can't believe you haven't done anything while I was gone! Actually I can believe that; if you weren't the grandson of Grandma English I would have fired you by now. All I asked was that you swept while I went to the store and bought new light bulbs. Just sweep! But I come back to find you haven't done that simple request. Jake are you even listening?" Jane rambled setting the bag of light bulbs on the counter and picking up the broom from the back.  
"Yeah..." I mumbled still thinking about earlier. He actually talked to me! Granted it was one word but it still counts!  
"Really? What did I say?" Jane stuck her hands on her hips and looked at me unimpressed.  
"You were uh... saying I haven't done my work?" I guessed deciding that was the most obvious answer.  
"Lucky guess," she narrowed her eyes and began sweeping starting at the back of the room. I took the light bulbs out of the bag and ripped open the packaging. The light bulbs flew out in every direction and shattered on the carpeted floor that was thin and covered the concrete base. Jane looked over and opened her mouth to begin yelling.  
"I will go out and buy more right now!" I said before she could begin another rant. I ran right out the door into the now drizzling rain. Only a few other people were outside and non of them looked like the book-reading type. I decided I would ask Jane if we could close up shop early when I got back. The walk to the small general store was not very long and I found myself wishing it was longer. If it was longer then there was a larger chance of something exciting happening like finding a twenty dollar bill or getting mugged.  
The store was mostly empty with only two other customers there. I walked straight to the back where I assumed they would be. I searched the entire back row to find there were no bulbs that we needed. They had bulbs bigger or smaller of course but not the ones I need.  
"Oh fiddlesticks," I murmured turning and glancing around the rest of the store. No other shelves had light bulbs or anything close we could use as a substitute. Jane must have gotten the last package and I threw it on the ground. It hadn't even been in the store five minutes! I walked out of the store and began walking in the opposite direction of the bookstore. Jane would kill me if I came back empty handed. I didn't decide on a place to go to because that would make sense. There wasn't much to do in this part of town since it was the rundown side of town. The only other place I could really go to would be the coffee shop. I absolutely love the coffee shop, even more than the store I work at.  
The coffee shop sat on the corner of the busiest intersection of this part of town. It takes a whole minute to wait and then cross the street which is really a big deal. The coffee shop unlike the other stores is usually busy and bustling with people. I sat down at one of the small tables in the back and looked out the window. The rain had stopped so I could actually see the streets and cars. I began counting how many red cars I could find and got to 15 when my phone buzzed. I reached into my pocket and dug around for a minute until I found my phone. A message came up saying I had three new messages. Am I popular or what?  
" _Hey it's Jade is the shop busy?_ "  
" _I wanted to know if you would come over today._ "  
" _It's about the wedding. I need a boys opinion on the decorations. ___"  
I read the messages a few times before replying that I could make it over this afternoon. I honestly would go over now instead of going back to the shop but I like sitting here because it gives me time alone with my thoughts.  
"Heeeeeeeey Jape!" a very annoying voice called. I looked over to watch Vriska walk over and sit in the seat opposite of me. "I can't believe you actually went out in public! I'm surprised to see you here instead of at the shop thinking of your impossible to get dream guy."  
"He's not a dream guy he's real. And I can have him if I wanted to!" I huffed frowning at her comment.  
"Oh really? Well go ahead he's right over there," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder and I looked over it to see him sitting at the front table reading one of the books he just bought. I felt my face heat up and turned my gaze to the table. "What's wrong? Are you scaaaaaaaared?"  
"No I just don't want to bother him. He's busy," I countered.  
"He's reading a book. That's not busy. Busy would be him working on a project like I am," she smirked and turned her nose up.  
"What project are you working on?" I asked trying to keep my gaze from wandering over her shoulder.  
"Oh it's the hardest project I've started on. I find guys with no hope for love and turn them into dream guys. You are pathetic so I've decided you will be my first test subject," she explained looking pleased at her response.  
"I'm flattered, but no," I responded looking away to glance at the menu. Maybe I could buy him a drink and start a conversation that way. Ask about the book, give him a discount, then take off his pants and-  
"Of course you want my help! Who wouldn't? First we need to start with your clothes. Khaki's are so 8 years ago. I think you would look best in dress clothes. A nice button down shirt and jacket, slacks. Maybe some hair products as well," She continued ignoring my reply.  
"If you are willing to buy all that for me then sure," I agreed. I could dress nice then go buy him a drink, ask about the book, get him a discount, take off his-  
"I can but what would be the point? No you will have to earn that by doing whatever I say. I will train you to flirt and pick up dates. Each number you get will be another item I will buy for you. Each successful date will be two items and so on. As your first task I want you to talk to ten people. Not ask out but just talk to, start getting the hang of being flirtatious," she smiled deviously and looked at me for confirmation.  
"Oh sure I guess I could do that," I said trying to go back to my fantasy.  
"No no no, none of that "oh sure" business will work with me. You are either in or you're out. Now stop fantasizing and answer me truthfully!" She commanded looking at me with an angry expression. I sighed and pushed the day dream to the back of my mind.  
"All right. Yes I agree to be your guinea pig and I agree to your terms just as long as you promise me this will work," I replied.  
"It will work because I invented it. Everything I come up with is pure genius, don't you know that? Now you have your first assignment so go," she waved me off and sat back to watch.  
I stood up slowly and began my training.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of talking in this. I'm sorry.

I pulled into Jade's driveway and put the car in park. Her jeep was sitting in the driveway next to me so I didn't have to wait. I leaned my head back against the seat and groaned. Today was not going how I wanted it to. I was hoping I could get some peace and quiet and dream about the book guy more but Serket had to get involved.  
Talking to ten people was harder than it sounded. At least I thought it would be. Right off the bat I got sucked into a conversation with five girls who forced me to sit with them and buy them Frappuccinos. Other than them I wasn't able to talk to anyone else. I did notice the guy had gotten up and left around the time one of the girls was getting pretty close in my personal space.  
I opened the door and stepped out, gripping the handle as Bec ran into me. He stood on his hind legs and licked my face and it was honestly gross but it was Bec so it was okay.  
"Bec down! " Jade yelled as she stepped onto the front porch. Bec did as he was told and went back to Jade.  
"Sorry I'm late. I got into quite a pickle at a coffee shop," I explained wiping my face off.  
"Sounds interesting. You can explain after we're finished with what I asked you about," she opened the front door and stepped aside so Bec could gallop in. I stepped in next and Jade closed the door behind me. "Thanks for coming over. I knew you were working today but I figured you were skipping. "  
"I wasn't skipping! Jane told me to go to the store and I simply took a detour, " I defended. We went into the kitchen and I sat at a bar stool. Jade picked up a stack of paper and sat it on the counter.  
"I was joking. Okay so we should start with clothes. Karkat said he doesn't care about colors but I don't want to be doing everything. Since you are a groomsmen I need your opinion on the suits, " she pulled out a catalog with fancy suits on the cover. She flipped through it before landing on a page with black suits. "I like this color since it's a pretty dark black. Do you think we should do red ties or would that not be okay? Karkat says he hates red but most of his stuff is either grey or red so he's not fooling me. "  
"Well you know him best. If you think he would like red then go with your gut feeling. I honestly don't think I'm going to be much help, " I replied scanning the page before deciding.  
"Okay well I'm going with red. Then the bridesmaid dresses will probably be red as well...I can work with that. Thanks Jake that really helps, " Jade closed the catalog and took out another from the stack. "I realize you aren't good with this. I only called you out here because I haven't seen you in a while. "  
"I know, it's my fault. I've been busy with...work. yeah work, " I explained. I couldn't tell Jade about my crush because then she would want to get involved.  
"We both know you're a terrible liar, " she gave me a knowing look and I knew I was defeated.  
"Yes but a man can try, " I huffed. "I've been a little distracted lately. "  
"With what? " Jade sat in the adjacent chair.  
"Well do you remember that guy that would come in about every day? He had blond hair, a pointy pair of  
sunglasses-"  
"Oh Dirk? " Jade cut me off.  
"Dir...wait what? " I asked flabbergasted.  
"Yeah Dirk. I remember him. I talked to him a bunch when I was working at the counter and you were stuck in the back. I know his younger brother; we went to school together, " she clarified.  
"You actually talked to him? " I've only talked to him once and he only said one word, and Jade says they would have conversations regularly? "How? How did you get him to talk? "  
"Wow. Eager aren't you? Wait a second do you have a crush on him? " Jade put the pieces together and smiled brightly once she figured it out. "Oh my gosh that makes so much sense now! Well I understand now, it all makes sense. "  
"Alright yes I do have a crush. But don't make a big fuss about it. I'm still trying to get his attention. He has alluded me so far and I can't even talk to him when I get the chance! I just start babbling and get all jittery and I end up making a fool of myself, " I let my head fall and hit the table and began wallowing in self pity.  
"Jake you're a great guy. You're kind of hard to talk to with your strange vocabulary and not being able to realize what people are saying, but when you get past that you're a great person to be around! " Jade tried cheering me up but it only made me feel worse. She was right, my vocabulary is strange. In not sure how to change that though, maybe I should take lessons. "So do you get what I'm saying? "  
"What? Oh yes definitely, " I replied. I need to work on staying focused when people are talking to me.  
"Great! So I'll call Dave and you two can get together to talk about you and Dirk. He will be a great help trust me, " Jade reached across the counter for her purse and began digging around in it.  
"Who's Dave? " I asked unsure of what she was talking about.  
"Dirk's brother. I just said I think you should meet up with him and he can talk to you about Dirk since you have issues talking to him face to face. "  
"Oh alrigh-no! No no no don't call his brother! "  
"Hi Dave it's Jade! "  
"No stop give me that now! "  
"I was calling to ask about Dirk. Well I have a friend who wants to know more about him. Oh really? That's fine. This Friday should be good. Thanks, bye! "  
"...What did he say? " I asked nervously.  
"You two are going to meet Friday at the bookstore. He's going to make sure Dirk doesn't go so you won't have to worry about him overhearing, " Jade smiled and dropped her phone back in her purse.  
"Why do you always have to do things like that? Just once can you listen to me instead of ignoring me? I don't talk just to hear my voice you know. "  
"I realize. But without me you would be nowhere in life. So you should thank me for doing this," she slipped off the stool and went to the fridge.  
"I will thank you after I meet him. If it goes horribly then I will say I told you so, " I glanced at her purse. I wonder what this "Dave" said to her?  
"Fine. If it goes bad you can say that but I assure you it will be fine. You worry too much."  
"It's good to worry. If I just went out and didn't think of the consequences of my actions then who knows where I would be. Probably dead, " I propped my elbow on the table and layed my cheek on my hand.  
"You're probably right. But Dave won't kill you and neither will meeting him. By the way you said something about the coffee shop. Care to explain? " jade pulled out a gallon of milk and sat it on the counter before opening up a cabinet for a cup.  
"Well I ran into Vriska and somehow got mixed up in one of her schemes."  
"Ooh that's not good. Everything she does is bad. You should probably find a way out of it, " Jade poured herself a glass of milk and poured some into another cup. She slid the other cup across the counter to my side.  
"I would but I feel like this plan has promise. At least I hope it does. She's trying to make me into a "dream guy" for some reason. I'm not sure why she wants to but I'm not going to argue, " I sipped the milk and mulled over the details of earlier. "I have goals I have to meet and each one I meet she buys me something. "  
"It sounds like you got a sugar momma. But instead of getting stuff for free you get stuff by being dateable," Jade laughed at the thought.  
"Ha ha," I rolled my eyes and took another sip.  
"Hey maybe if it works you can ask Dirk out, " she pointed out.  
"What I wouldn't give to date him, " I mumbled thinking about the wonderful scenario.  
"Okay so with Vriska and Dave helping you I bet Dirk will be falling for you in a heartbeat, " Jade clapped her hands . She straightened up the messy pile of papers and sat them behind her. "You just have to be sure not to mess up along the way. "  
"I'll try not to. I mean how hard can it be to get a guy to like you? "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I had so much school work to finish and finals to take. I hope you guys liked this chapter and I'll try to update more in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not updating in a while I had writers block and also forgot I had this account in the first place. I won't be able to update next week because I will be at band camp. After that I will try to update better.

The little bell above the door jingled as I stepped through into the shop. Jane looked up at the noise and glared at me. Maybe I should have just stayed in bed.  
"So you decided to show up? " She said angrily before walking over to me. She gripped my arm tightly and pulled me over to the back room. "I don't want to know why you never showed up yesterday. Just don't do it again! "  
"I'm sorry Jane! Really! It was mean of me to do that and I realize! " I tried to apologize to her. She let go of my arm and pointed at the messy room.  
"This is your job from now on. You are to organize and clean this room until it is spotless. Once that's finished I'll find something else for you to do, " she waited for a reply and left angrily when I simply stared at her in surprise.  
I can't believe this! How was I supposed to see Dirk now if I was stuck back here? I frowned and turned to face my punishment. The medium sized room was filled with boxes of books stacked haphazardly anywhere they would fit. Shelves were in here for them but were instead neglected for the floor. It was also very dusty and my eyes watered when I dusted off the top of one of the boxes. This was going to take forever!  
About an hour into work I had cleaned off all of the boxes on the top of the many stacks around the room. I was huddled in the middle of the room in between stacks of books I was separating into sections. The non-fiction section was larger than the cooking section at the moment and the fantasy was the smallest so far. I finished sorting out the first box when the bell signaled our first customer.  
"Right on this way, " I heard Jane say from the other room. I pulled the second box over to me and opened it when I heard a knock on the doorframe. I looked over to the door- holy shit it's him. Dirk was standing in the doorway with am umbrella in his right hand. I can't believe this, I didn't expect to see him for at least a while. He walked into the room and held out the umbrella.  
"Thank you for letting me use this, " he said. He said that to me. ME. He's speaking to me. He's staring at me. He looks uncomfortable now. Crap I've been staring at him this whole time!  
I reached out and quickly took the umbrella.  
"Oh it was no problem ol' chap," I replied. Did I seriously just call him chap? Who says that anymore!  
Dirk nodded and walked back to the main room. He stopped in the doorway though and seemed to hesitate before speaking.  
"Is there a reason you're back here today? " he asked. I opened my mouth to speak but shut it moments later. I couldn't tell him I skipped work then made plans to meet his brother, that would make me look bad!  
"Oh well poor Janey has been working very hard lately and I thought I would switch places with her so she could have a break. I don't want her getting sick from all this dust, " I lied. Dirk considered my words and gave a short nod in response before leaving. I smacked a palm against my forehead and cursed quietly. Way to go Jake, lying is always the answer.  
I got through the next box and decided to ask Jane if I could go buy some coffee. This work wasn't engaging in the slightest. When I walked into the main room Dirk was just getting up from his usual spot. Jane looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question.  
"Yes? " she asked.  
"Oh um. I was just wondering if I could go grab a coffee real quick," I asked watching Dirk out of the corner of my eye.  
"Well as long as you come back I think it will be alright, " she said after a moment of consideration. I smiled and thanked her before leaving. I left the store and looked up to the sky. A raindrop fell onto my cheek and I sighed before opening my umbrella. I began walking to the coffee shop as the rain began falling heavily.  
"Shit, " I stopped walking and turned around to see Dirk clutching a bag of books tightly in his arms trying to shield them from the rain. His head lifted up like he knew I was watching. We looked at each other for at least ten seconds before I realized what I was doing. I ran over and held the umbrella over him.  
"We don't want those books getting wet," I laughed awkwardly and glanced down at my feet. Dirk walked closer so he was standing directly in front of me and moved the umbrella so it was above both of us.  
"I can't take your umbrella twice in a row, " he smiled softly and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a few seconds.  
"It doesn't matter to me if I get wet. The books are the important thing here, " I replied a little to quickly.  
"I suppose so, " Dirk added. "You said you were getting coffee right? Do you mind if I walk there with you? "  
I can't believe what I'm hearing. I know that's not really what he meant but I feel like he's asking me out. For coffee. Drinking coffee with Dirk.  
"Not at all! " I practically yelled. He flinched at my outburst and I died some inside. The walk to the coffee shop was longer than it usually is since it was hard to squeeze two people under one small umbrella. Once we were there we got in line and I continued to kick myself for not saying anything. Surprisingly enough it was Dirk who broke the silence.  
"I know you skipped work yesterday," he said. I froze and glanced at him.  
"What? " I managed the say.  
"I saw you here yesterday. You were talking to a girl for a while, then you went and sat with a large group of girls. Also Jane told me you skipped, " he explained. That was it. That's all I needed to hear to know my life was over. Of course I had to go and lie to him too!  
"Well yes I was here for a while. But it wasn't my fault! It was Vriska who kept me here and I had to go see Jade and talk about her upcoming wedding and I didn't want to go back to work because Jane was already upset with me and I couldn't find anymore light bulbs so I knew that would upset her more so I just never went back, " I rambled trying to explain myself. The person in front of us took their order and stepped to the side. Dirk looked up at the menu and ordered his drink before responding.  
"That was an amusing story. I'm glad Jade is still getting married, did she tell you when it was? " he asked. I ordered my drink and stepped to the side to stand next to him.  
"Well she wants to have it in the spring, but that's all I know. I don't actually remember the date, " I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly and didn't meet his eye.  
"I'll be sure to send her a gift," a worker handed Dirk his drink. "Before I go I just want to say thank you again for lending me your umbrella. "  
"It really wasn't any trouble," I said to his retreating back. He left the shop and I watched him walk away.  
"I'm counting this as a date. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's been reading this and thank you for the nice comments! It really means a lot to me! The next chapter will hopefully be Jake and Dave's meeting.

**Author's Note:**

> I really like how this turned out and in excited to write more. If you read my other stories I'm sorry I haven't updated I really haven't had the motivation to write anything for them. I will possibly update them in the future but I think this will be my main story. I hope you like it so far and please leave comments and feedback!


End file.
